Microsoft has been one of the biggest tech companies for a very long time, but despite selling hardware like laptops, tablets, and (of course) Xbox consoles, it hasn’t found much success in the smartphone market. Between 2010 and 2015, Microsoft released a series of smartphones running its Windows Phone operating system. However, they never gained popularity, especially compared to Apple’s iPhone or Google’s Android.
In 2015, BGR covered a former Microsoft engineer who explained why Windows Phone never really had a chance, mainly due to heavy competition and a lack of urgency on Microsoft’s part. Once the iPhone was launched, smartphones became Apple’s top priority. At the same time, Android became the second behemoth on the market and, with the help of Samsung, the iPhone’s only real rival.
The dominance of Apple and Android meant the deck was stacked against anyone trying to break through. If any company had the resources to succeed, it was Microsoft, but the company prioritized other projects over Windows Phone hardware and software development. Real competition would have required Microsoft’s full attention, and the company clearly wasn’t interested in going all-in on mobile.
Microsoft made other mistakes with Windows Phones
Market conditions aside, Microsoft made some critical missteps with Windows Phone, most notably Windows 8, which some critics at the time claimed destroyed the most successful software franchise of all time. The operating system was modeled after mobile interfaces with the aim of revitalizing PCs by making them mimic the experience of smartphones.
However, Windows 8 had the opposite effect. Since the mobile UI is based on touchscreens, it doesn’t scale well to computers without them. This is why Apple offers different operating systems for different categories of devices rather than trying to apply a one-size-fits-all solution. Rather than boosting its PC business, the operating system was so hated by users that it hurt the entire brand for a time. Through no fault of its own, Windows Phone was associated with the failure of Windows 8.
The lack of a user base also meant that developers were not interested in creating apps for Windows Phone. In contrast, Google-owned Android had access to the company’s many services such as Gmail and YouTube, which Google removed from Windows Phone in 2013. In 2017, even Bill Gates (then a Microsoft board member) and other Microsoft executives publicly admitted that they had switched to Android because of Windows’ struggling smartphone software.
In October 2017, Microsoft ended development of Windows 10 Mobile before ending support completely in January 2020. Although the era of the Windows Phone operating system is long gone, Microsoft is returning to the smartphone hardware market with the Android-powered NexPhone, expected later in 2026.
